PORTLAND, Ore. – With the holidays approaching, many charities are ramping up their fundraising efforts.

So it is a good time to weigh the best charities to help.

KATU worked with Charity Navigator to evaluate the Top 20 charities in Oregon. These are the heavy hitters that receive the most donations from you. VIEW THE LIST

Charity Navigator rates charities on a zero-to-four star system based on how efficiently the charity uses your money. (Learn about the rating system)

The list includes charities both big and small - from Southern Oregon Goodwill, which raises $6.7 million a year, to Mercy Corps, which raises $89 million.

So which one is most efficient with your money?

At the top of the list - with four stars and considered exceptional by Charity Navigator – is Food for Lane County, Medical Teams International and the Portland Schools Foundation. 
 
They all had:

• A high percentage of what they spend going toward their programs
• A low percentage of administrative and fundraising expenses
• Dollar-for-dollar fundraising efficiency.

What does that mean?

Charities spend money to make money. The top charities on our list spend just pennies on the dollar to raise that buck. The charities toward the bottom of the list spend more.

The Oregon Symphony Association and the Portland Art Museum scored just two stars - a rating Charity Navigator classifies as needing improvement.

Other charity watchdogs that offer data online are:

• American Institute for Philanthropy
• Better Business Bureau

Charities to watch out for

The Oregon Attorney General's Office says among the worst charities are so-called badge charities. They involve people we are taught to trust and would generally want to help such as firefighters, police officers and state troopers.

But these badge charities often hire outside companies to do their fundraising, and those companies can take a big chunk of the donations.

For instance, the Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association hired the Civic Development Group to solicit donations over the phone. For its services, the company received 80 percent of the donations it collected.
 
Another problem is people selling magazines door to door who falsely claim that local charities, retirement homes or hospitals will receive your subscription or somehow benefit from the sale.

The State of Oregon has taken action against three out-of-state companies -  Integrity Subscriptions, Universal Subscription Agency and Magazine Fulfillment Sales  - barring them from ever setting up shop here again.

How about those fancy gala fundraisers?  The attorney general's office says you should beware of the organization that spends more on an event than what it raises.

"Get all the information you can," said Jake Weigler, an attorney general's office spokesman. "Make sure you get it in writing. Find out where the money's going. Find out if, in fact, the fundraiser is a professional who is going to take a cut off the top or whether this is really just a non-profit entity."

MORE TIPS:

• If you ask, a professional fundraiser must tell you that they are hired by a charity to raise money. Otherwise they are breaking Oregon law.
• If you request a charity's tax statements, they are required to provide them.
• You have three days from the time you make a donation to a charity to get a full refund if you change your mind.

The state attorney general's office is proposing a law that would require Oregon charities to spend at least 30 percent of their expenses on program services. Otherwise they would not get tax exempt status and donors would not get a tax deduction. Right now, there's no such standard. 

RANKINGS OF TOP OREGON CHARITIES

• What do the ratings mean?
• How are the charities rated?

MORE HELPFUL LINKS: 

• Guidestar
• Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section